Context While several voices, including senior officials and public figures, have hailed the killing by police of all four accused in the Hyderabad rape-murder case early on Friday, questions have also been raised over the legality and propriety of the police action. Extra-judicial or “encounter” killings have been a contested and divisive Read More …
Category: Mains
Palestine-India techno park
Context Recently the Representative of India to Palestine, Sunil Kumar, released third tranche of funding, worth $3 million, for the construction of a Palestine-India Techno Park. In total, India has made a commitment of investing over $12 million, part of India’s broader framework of capacity building in Palestine. The Indian Read More …
Why ‘carbon market’ is debated
Context Almost halfway through the climate conference in Madrid, one big thing it had to resolve — disagreements over setting up a new carbon market — remains contentious as ever. Carbon markets, which allow for buying and selling of carbon emissions with the objective of reducing global emissions, is an Read More …
Virtual Autopsy
Context It is likely to be possible soon to carry out autopsies without dissecting the body, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan told Rajya Sabha. India will be the first country in South and Southeast Asia to carry out these “virtual autopsies”, the Minister said. So what is a virtual autopsy? In Read More …
Wildlife Crime Cases
Context: In 2018, 388 cases of wildlife-related crimes were registered under the Wildlife Protection Act, according to a reply tabled in Parliament by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Facts & Figures: In nearly one in every three cases —123 of the 388 — the species involved was Read More …
International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill, 2019
Context The International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill, 2019 is likely to be taken up by Parliament for discussion next week. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the Bill in Lok Sabha on November 25. The Bill provides for the establishment of an Authority to develop and regulate the financial services market in the Read More …
Why is India’s labour productivity growth faltering?
Context An analysis done by India Ratings and Research of Annual Survey of Industries data on India’s labour productivity growth in the organised manufacturing sector shows a disappointing trend. Advertising During the high economic growth phase between 2004 and 2008 (just before the global financial crisis hit), India’s labour productivity Read More …
National Registry of Voluntary Organ Donors
Context The Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the Centre and the states of Punjab and Haryana, as well as the Union Territory of Chandigarh, to implement ‘The Transplant of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994’ in letter and spirit, and to also consider the recommendations of an Expert Committee Read More …
National Health Stack (NHS)
Context With the launch last year of Ayushman Bharat, the world’s largest state-funded health insurance programme, and the slow but certain progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC), the challenge of making quality and affordable healthcare accessible to every one of India’s 135 crore citizens has acquired an altogether new dimension. Read More …
Why India has said no to RCEP?
Context India decided to hold off on signing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) until “significant outstanding issues” were resolved, even as all other 15 countries involved in the negotiations stated that they were ready to sign the mega trade deal in 2020. Unsatisfactory negotiations pertaining to India’s trade with China Read More …
